


When I Was Young (Like You)

by phantomthief_fee



Series: Johntown [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Hadestown AU, M/M, musical AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14043480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: The rulers of the Underworld sing to the two young lovers.





	When I Was Young (Like You)

So, I’ve been watching [this](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DweW9nHntWQw&t=MDZmNWRlNzY1ZjQ3Y2M1ODIyNzMwN2M2NWE0ZDFmN2YzNTY0ZWFlOCxndktRSDVnTA%3D%3D&b=t%3Abf1mUcY3jG5LyWt2YecXMQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fqueenofcats17.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F172092977075%2Fwhen-i-was-young-like-you&m=1) video on repeat and it gave me some TAZ ideas.

[This](https://amityravenclawelf.tumblr.com/post/170671337797/the-heart-of-a-king-part-1-a-hadestown-fic) post also served as some inspiration. 

* * *

John stared down at the young girl who’d come all this way to save her lover. She looked up at him such defiance, such determination. He remembered feeling like that, standing before Pan and declaring that he would marry Merle Highchurch. Gods, he hadn’t felt that way in a long time. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was that this girl wanted to leave the Underworld with someone under his contract. Essentially, she wanted to raise the dead. Lup was her name. He had to admit, she a lot of courage to get as far as she had. He knew Merle was watching him. So he had to put on a good show. 

_When I was a young man like you_

_Son, I held a woman too_

_Held her in my naked hands_

_When I was a young man_

He remembered the beginning, when everything had been new and exciting. When all they’d cared about had been one another. They hadn’t thought ahead enough to consider how they would handle their differences. Every touch had been like electricity. John remembered days spent sneaking away from Pan and the other gods, days spent in the sunshine hand in hand, rolling in the grass and the dirt and laughing at how dirty they got. He remembered Merle’s face, his beard just growing in, as they vowed they’d never leave one another. 

_Now you know how it feels_

_Women are as slick as eels_

_Woman, quicker than the asp_

_Always slipping from your grasp_

“When I was young like you, girl, I held one I loved too.” He said. “Now you know how it feels. They’ll always leave, always slipping from your grasp.”

“She loves me!” Lup spat, her spirit a fire raging out of control. “We’re going back to the surface together. You can’t stop me!” 

“On the contrary,  _I’m_  what’s standing between you and your beloved.” John reminded her. “Besides, she left you once, what makes you think she won’t do it again?”

“Because she loves me!” Lup stamped her foot.

“Love can only go so far, my dear girl.” John smiled tightly. “Love fades and wanes. It ebbs and flows and leaves you high and dry.” 

_Take it from a man no longer young_

_If you want to hold a woman, son_

_Hang a chain around her throat_

_Made of many carat gold_

_Shackle her from wrist to wrist_

_With sterling silver bracelets_

_Fill her pockets full of stones_

_Precious ones, diamonds,_

He’d given Merle everything the other man could have ever wanted. He’d made a kingdom for his husband. Everything he did, he did for Merle. He’d thought it would be enough. He gave everything for Merle. No matter what he did, though, it was never enough. There was always some gripe, something wrong. It was too hot, too bright, he was too cold, he was too aggressive. 

_Bind her with a golden band_

_Take it from an old man_

“Take it from a man no longer young, if you want to hold a lover, girl, you give them pretty baubles.” John closed the distance between the two of them, grabbing Lup’s chin and tilting it upwards so that their eyes met. 

“Hang a chain around her throat, made of many carat gold.” He said, leaning in close. “Shackle her from wrist to wrist with sterling silver bracelets. Fill her pockets full of stones, precious one diamonds. Bind her with a golden band. Take it from an old man.” Then he let go. Lup stumbled away from him, eyes wide and disbelieving. 

“Trust me, girl, I know what I’m talking about.” 

.

Not too far away, Merle was having a similar conversation with Lucretia. Similar to John, when Merle looked at Lup and Lucretia, he was reminded of what he’d had with his husband once upon a time. The time when John had willingly gone up against Pan to win Merle’s hand in marriage. 

_When I was a young girl like you_

_Sister, I was hungry too_

_Hungry for the underworld_

_When I was a young girl_

_Now you know how it tastes_

_The fruit of Mr. Hades’ ways_

_Sister, it’s a bitter wine–_

_Spit it out while you still have time_

“When I was young like you, sister, I was hungry too. I wanted things that my pops couldn’t provide me.” He put his hands on Lucretia’s shoulder, rubbing his thumbs on her skin in a fatherly gesture. “I ran away too. But look where that got me. Running isn’t going to solve your problems.”

“But if I go back, things might not change.” Lucretia was on the verge of tears. “Here might not be so bad. I can make money here. I can have food and a bed. Maybe…Maybe I should just tell Lup to go home.”

_Take it from a woman of my age_

_Love is not a gilded cage_

_All the wealth within these walls_

_Will never buy the thing called love_

“Take it from me,” Merle said, smiling gently. “All the wealth that John can create can never buy you love. What you have with that girl of yours, it’s more important than any factory job. If you go back with her, talk things out, she’ll work with you. She came all the way down here for you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“What…What was it like for you and John?” Lucretia asked. 

_Love was when he came to me_

_Begging on his bended knees_

_To please have pity on his heart_

_And let him lay me in the dirt…_

_I felt his arms around me then_

_We didn’t need a wedding bed_

_Dark seeds scattered on the ground_

_The wild birds were flying around_

_That’s when I became his wife_

For a moment, Merle was startled. He thought about the early days almost constantly, but he never talked about them. 

“Love was when he came begging on a bended knee,” he whispered, fingering his wedding band. “Telling me to have pity on his heart and let him lay me in the dirt. He wrapped me in his arms and we laid on the forest floor, among the pine needs and fallen leaves. Birds circled around us. That was when I became his husband.”

_But that was in another life_

_That was in another world_

_When I was a young girl!_

“But that was a long time ago.” He shook his head. “Things changed.” 

“Don’t you want to be happy again?” Lucretia asked. 

“I don’t think we  _can_  be happy anymore.” Merle smiled sadly. “We’ve both forgotten what it’s like to be in love.”

.

Those words hurt more than any insult Merle could have hurled his way. John still loved Merle, he was sure of it. Or…Or did he? He turned his gaze away from where he knew the garden was, back to the girl before him. He had to take care of this somehow. 

_Young man, I was young once too_

_I once sang the young man’s blues_

_Women come and women go_

_Get you high and get you low_

_One day she’s hot, the next she’s cold_

_Women are so seasonal_

_Women leave again and again_

_Take it from an old man_

“Now, girl, I was young once too. I once sang the same song you do now.” He continued, steeling his heart and making his voice cold.  “But women come and go. They’ll leave you again and again. Nothing you do will ever be enough for them.”

_Now I sing a different song_

_One I can depend upon_

_The simple tune, the steady beat_

_The music of machinery_

_Do you hear that heavy metal sound?_

_The symphony of Hadestown_

“But I sing a different song now, one that won’t fail me.” He let the corners of his mouth tug up into a smile, a cold and dispassionate expression. “It’s a simple tune, one you’ve no doubt heard. The music of machinery.”

“You call that music?” Lup snorted. “It’s fucking ugly, is what it is.”

_And in this symphony of mine_

_Of power chords and power lines_

_Young man, you can strum your lyre,_

_I have strung the world in wire_

_Young man, you can sing your ditty_

_I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITY!_

His eyes sparked with an unearthly fire and suddenly he was right in front of Lup again, their faces so close that their noses almost touched. 

“Girl, you can play your violin.” He hissed. “I have strung the world in wire. You can sing your ditty. I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITY!” HIs voice boomed throughout the cavern, grinding everything to a halt as the workers stopped to stare at him. Few had seen him lose his composure like this. 

_I’ll tell you what, young man_

_Since my wife is such a fan,_

_And since I’m going to count to three,_

_And put you out of your misery_

_One!– give me one more song_

_One more song before I send you_

_Two!– to the great beyond_

_Where nobody can hear you singing_

_Three!– sing a song for me_

_Make me laugh, make me weep_

_Make the king feel young again_

Quickly, John regained his composure, adjusting his tie and clearing his throat. 

“I’ll tell you what, girl,” he said. “Since my husband is such a fan, why don’t you play a song for me?” 

“A-A song?” Lup desperately tried to calm her frazzled nerves and still her shaking body. 

“Yes, a song.” John nodded, turning and walking to his throne. “Make me feel…anything. Make me feel young again.” 

_Sing for an old man!_

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been binging Hadestown and since I was in a TAZ mood from Kravitz's Moving Castle, I kept thinking of which TAZ characters would fit into which roles. I decided on Hades being John, Persephone being Merle, Eurydice being Lucretia, and Lup as Orpheus.


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